The concept of Virtual Worlds is rapidly evolving, driven by groundbreaking initiatives and technological advancements. This tutorial will explore the transformative impact of Virtual Worlds on the media industry, highlighting real-world examples that showcase their potential.

We will begin by examining the key initiatives propelling the development of Virtual Worlds, discussing their implications for media production, distribution, and consumption. The tutorial will then delve into the technology enablers that make these immersive experiences possible, with a focus on Extended Reality (XR) and Spatial Computing.

In the realm of Spatial Computing, we will explore how Apple’s VisionOS and the newly announced Android XR are set to revolutionize Virtual Worlds. Additionally, we will cover state-of-the-art technologies for capturing photorealistic environments and human representations, including Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS), and advanced avatar animations such as Apple Personas on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Pixel Codec Avatars for Meta Quest headsets.

Topics

• Virtual Worlds Initiatives
• Virtual Worlds in the Media Industry
• Technology Enablers
  • Gaming Engines (Unity, Unreal Engine)
  • Extended Reality (Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest, …)
  • Spatial Computing (visionOS, Android XR)
  • Photorealistic Capturing (NeRF, 3DGS)
  • Avatar Animations (Apple Persona, Meta Pixel Codec Avatars)